Studding out a Stallion

[Make A Wish Miniatures]

OK, I know the ones you are talking about. Yes that should keep him in.

 

[Molly's Run Minis]

Hey there! I think I'm the biggest old hag on the forum and that's ok by me.

About these stallions: I pride myself on my stallion Nick and his impecable manners and brag about him all the time. I got him when he was just a very young untrained colt and he was worked with from the get go daily. He has never given me one bit of trouble. He was raised by me and my boys who were just kids at the time. However my kids were already previously very horse savvy about handling big horses so they knew how to handle him correctly even at thier young ages. BUTT! He's all boy when it comes to a mare in heat and that is when you will see the writing on the wall and realize what you have gotten yourself into. The manners still have to be in place no matter what and that is nothing but hard work with a knowledgable hand. Even the nicest stallions in the world can turn into a complete moron in seconds. We will worry about these safety issues and cross our fingers and hope for the best. I sure wish if there were a mentor in your neck of the woods they would step forward to work with you.

i've seen studs at shows behave like morons, they're fine at the trailer but take em in the ring and they go nuts! plus, i think it's typical of all males to act like morons at least 50% of the time

i kinda wish i had a mentor too, i think it would be fun but for now i'm on my own. dont worry guys i'll be careful

 

[Molly's Run Minis]

OK, I know the ones you are talking about. Yes that should keep him in.

ok, good! that's one less worry on my mind!

 

[Marty]

Thinking back in time, you know, this forum has raised up more than one kid who started out like you, and then went on to be quite the horsewomen.

 

[Molly's Run Minis]

Thinking back in time, you know, this forum has raised up more than one kid who started out like you, and then went on to be quite the horsewomen.

really? who was it?

 

[RhineStone]

they sell them in my area so that goats cant even get through lol!

Are you talking about the ones with the 4-6" rectangles? We call them "cattle panels" around here and we have used those for years for our horses of all sizes, mini to draft. The only problem I ever had with one is that it got bent a little on the end, and there were about 1" ends sticking out past the last vertical. Of course, I had a filly find that little spot and rip her girth open in a 1-2" triangle.

We have since trimmed back the ends on the panels. Otherwise, they have worked great even for our mini stallion (since cut and haven't regretted it!). We put the t-posts on the "outside" of the panels so the stud pushed against them.

 

[PaintNminis]

Also You will want to make sure the mares have a Current Culture and Coggins so they don't Spread Disease to your Stallion if you choose to stand him. if they have some Bad bacteria it can also hinder the mares from getting in foal.

 

[Molly's Run Minis]

Are you talking about the ones with the 4-6" rectangles? We call them "cattle panels" around here and we have used those for years for our horses of all sizes, mini to draft. The only problem I ever had with one is that it got bent a little on the end, and there were about 1" ends sticking out past the last vertical. Of course, I had a filly find that little spot and rip her girth open in a 1-2" triangle.

We have since trimmed back the ends on the panels. Otherwise, they have worked great even for our mini stallion (since cut and haven't regretted it!). We put the t-posts on the "outside" of the panels so the stud pushed against them.

no, i'm talking about horse pannels that are made with thicker, what do you call them, um, rings? in the middle. i dont even think a foal could get through them!

 

[love_casper]

I have been staying on the sidelines through most of this, but as the weather has me stuck inside today, and I for somereason felt compelled to read this entire thread, I might as well say what I've been thinking. Even though the main issue of the thread has been addressed, this applies to all future others as well.

Thinking back in time, you know, this forum has raised up more than one kid who started out like you, and then went on to be quite the horsewomen.

We ALL started out as precocious young newbies wanting to jump into our new found world of the Mini. Because everyone and his brother who owns minis seems to want to breed them, which you won't find in any other breed, most of the original questions are about how to go about such a thing. And usually when the newbie asks "how" the experienced reply "just don't." The people who reply to the exhuberant young teens are the ones that have been in this for years, and are willing to make themselves appear a bit grouchy to get their message accross. I joined this forum as an excited young 13 year old. I'll be 18 this year. We're all the same - we use too many smilies, share unwanted information, use derogatory slang terms as insults because that's what our generation does, write with txt abbreviations, don't use punctuation or capitalization, reply to topics that children have no business being involved in, and think this whole mini farm thing looks easy. After so many responses making their advice palatable to the newby, the experienced forum member reaches a point where they begin to cut the fluff and simply tell it like it is. Much to the dismay of the youngin, who thinks all posts need to be sugar-coated and sweet sounding or else it's offensive.

The long time forum members, some of which have been involved in minis since before either of us were born, stay here for the love of the Miniature as a breed and its enthousiasts. They say what they say because ultimately it comes down to the individual horses. They aren't as callous as you think, they are guardians of their passion. Just want to make sure that everyone who embarks on breeding (or whatever the said topic is, really!) does it with full knowledge of what they are getting into. The experienced have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. This includes driving, showing, stallion owning, foaling, heck even feeding and stabling. There are many a post of the children - children referring to anyone acting like one, regardless of age - asking straight out how to train something to drive.... notice the responces never include a step by step approach, but advice to seek professional help. Same goes for any type of training, foaling, or whathaveyou.

All one has to do is spend some time reading the Casper story on my (in dire need of an update) website, to know that the breeding barn is no place for a child. On that story, I haven't yet decided whether or not the run-on sentences or ridiculously bad grammar are endearing qualities versus annoying. At any rate, it hasn't been touched since I wrote it, at right around your age. There's almost always some post going on about convincing newbies that breeding isn't what they want to do. What the experience... "hags" if you will... are trying to do is break through the glittering generality that is the newbie's fantasy of having a little foal, to replace it with the truth that goes on with breeding. I was lucky to find someone in my area who was part of a breeding farm. Find someone near you, even pick a forum member that breeds, and get their fatality rates. It ISN'T pretty! You don't even want to think about how many mini mares die during pregnancy, and the high amount of foals that don't make it. As a matter of fact, my very first question on this forum (as a precocious young 13 year old with her first mini) was should I breed her. These wonderful people for whom I am quite grateful for, convinced me that if I couldn't stand the thought of anything happening to her, she shouldn't be bred. It's just to risky. People love their broodmares, but you'll probably find even on the big farms there's that special one that just doesn't get sacrificed. It's nothing personal, it's the facts. Truth burns sometimes lol!

This thread and recent others of its nature have inspired me to go back several years to read what I was posting 4 years ago. Almost every other one of them I was clasping my hand over my mouth... "OMG Did I actually write that!?!?!" Myself as well as others my age of that forum generation sounded like a group of annoying gnats! I was quite literally yelling at the screen, just shut up already!!!! Or, You shouldn't have replied to that, I wouldn't even do it these days! Some posts I couldn't even stomach to get through I was annoying myself. Or I'd say "Oh jeez, hope nobody remembers that!" Most of the time I was observing my thoughts and opinions I had back then. Some things have stayed the same. Others I have made a complete 180 change on. Another reason not to start producing more animals at your age... in 2 or 3 years you probably won't even be interested in the same things. (I hear you through the screen, no no I'll always wanna breed minis!) Yeah yeah I thought so to. I thought I knew what type I was going to aim for, what my facility would look like.... in fact I just dug up a sketch I did complete with my want list of horses at the time, and what I wanted to do. It's funny, I'm not interested in a single one of those horses anymore, I don't like that type anymore, I doubt I'll be a bigtime breeder, and I've made 3 or 4 switches of decisions on what I wanted to do when I grew up. Now I have things figured out, and can't help but think where I'd be if nobody knocked sense into me when I was young. That's not a personal attack btw, the child's frontal lobe / decision making opinionated part of the brain isn't even developed until mid 20s. Example: last year while looking for a new big horse I had my heart set on a different breed every day, different discipline. It's ultimately unfair for a bunch of minis to be your guinee pigs.

I was blessed to have several experienced forum members let me bug the crap out of them to help me make decisions and educate me about the industry. Sometimes I didn't listen.... 100% of them present day Me wishes I had. Someday, you'll come back to threads like these and wish you'd changed some things.... and that's called maturity. So take this as 9 pages of education for the young you.

Someday one of these people will actually commend you for something good you'll say, and because of the improvement you will have made it wil mean that much more. I remember the first time one of The Hags agreed with something I said.... I screenshotted it and saved the picture - still have it!!!

(One thing that hasn't changed in years - I still can't respond with less than 4 paragraphs. WHich is funny because in reading last night one of my comments to myself was, Goodness dummy, you could've written that in 3 sentences!

)

All in all - to the children reading this: don't take it personally.... These wonderful mini owners rarely tell you what you want to hear, but they ALWAYS tell you what you NEED to hear.

And to the adults who have known me since I was an overzealous young gnat: thanks for putting up with me!

 

[happy appy]

Well said!

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

Uhm... fillies can come into heat 9-14 months of age, and can get pregnant. And just because someone else handled the stud easily does NOT mean he won't learn bad habits, or change once a glut of hormones hits him. By brushing off both those points you've shown that you aren't ready at all to house a stallion, never mind manage his breeding... please, please, please get some stallion-experienced help!!!

 

[MountainMeadows]

Oh Alex,

You made me cry

- that is such a wonderful tribute to all of us Old Hags who want nothing more than for our beloved miniatures to be safe and secure and to lead happy, healthy lives bringing joy to their owners. If I can ever be of any help to you please feel free to call me anytime day or night - THAT is what a committed miniature horse owner does without blinking an eye - we are there for you when you need us - you only need reach out.

((( Hugs to you Alex

))))

Stacy

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

All in all - to the children reading this: don't take it personally.... These wonderful mini owners rarely tell you what you want to hear, but they ALWAYS tell you what you NEED to hear.

This has to be one of the most succinct and to-the-point statements I have ever read here.

VERY good post, I hope EVERYONE takes it to heart, and not just our junior members.

Lucy

 

[Molly's Run Minis]

Uhm... fillies can come into heat 9-14 months of age, and can get pregnant. And just because someone else handled the stud easily does NOT mean he won't learn bad habits, or change once a glut of hormones hits him. By brushing off both those points you've shown that you aren't ready at all to house a stallion, never mind manage his breeding... please, please, please get some stallion-experienced help!!!

i'm not "brushing" off anything, i've talked to my vet, whom has seen many stallions and helped with some breedings as well. she filled me in on what could happen when he gets here so that i can mentally and phisically prepare for anything he could do

just because i'm a "youth" doesnt mean i'm incapable at everything! i know the risks i'm taking and i know the injuries i might get, i'm willing to take these on and work with him on good behavior and ground manners.

 

[Irish Hills Farm]

Alex,

It has been absolutely wonderful watching you mature into intelligent and elegant speaker/writer/young woman here on the LB forum. I truly enjoy reading what you have to say.

 

[Mini Gaits Farm]

Wow Alex.....you are well beyond your years....your parents must be extremely proud of you....I am...and don't even know you. Bless you for a wonderful post!!!!!

 

[Songcatcher]

We ALL started out as precocious young newbies wanting to jump into our new found world of the Mini..... I joined this forum as an excited young 13 year old. I'll be 18 this year. We're all the same - we use too many smilies, share unwanted information, use derogatory slang terms as insults because that's what our generation does, write with txt abbreviations, don't use punctuation or capitalization, reply to topics that children have no business being involved in..... After so many responses making their advice palatable to the newby, the experienced forum member reaches a point where they begin to cut the fluff and simply tell it like it is. Much to the dismay of the youngin, who thinks all posts need to be sugar-coated and sweet sounding or else it's offensive....

All in all - to the children reading this: don't take it personally.... These wonderful mini owners rarely tell you what you want to hear, but they ALWAYS tell you what you NEED to hear.

And to the adults who have known me since I was an overzealous young gnat: thanks for putting up with me!

I remember back then

and I must say that you certainly have matured since then. You have spoken very eloquently what everyone needs to hear.

Something we should all remember, young or old, we all did things that we cringe at (or should). Not just in regard to horses, but life in general. Sometimes we are fortunate in having people easily forgive us and sometimes we create barriers that can never be broken.

When I was young (many, many years ago) I was taught a poem. I have tried to apply it to my life. Asking questions is good, but worthless unless you listen. Sometimes a person can't hear an answer because they are too busy asking the next question.

A wise old owl sat in an oak.

The more he heard, the less he spoke.

The less he spoke, the more he heard.

Wasn't that owl a wise old bird?

 

[Bunnylady]

We ALL started out as precocious young newbies wanting to jump into our new found world of the Mini. Because everyone and his brother who owns minis seems to want to breed them, which you won't find in any other breed, most of the original questions are about how to go about such a thing. And usually when the newbie asks "how" the experienced reply "just don't."

Alex brings up a valid point here. From reading the earlier posts, I understand that you (MRM) feel that your parents don't take your minis seriously. I can understand your irritation and frustration when you feel that we don't take you seriously, either. I can also understand that you want your animals to be more than just some backyard pets. But if your parents aren't "into" minis, I have to think that you haven't been "into" them terribly long, either. Are you sure you have already developed the eye for a really good mini? You want to be a breeder (who doesn't?) but can you spot the animal with "take it to Nationals" potential? Does this little stallion that you are about to acquire have what it takes to possibly be the next Buckaroo? Are your fillies likely to produce babies that could be that good, or would you be risking their lives to produce middle of the road babies that (on a good day) might barely fetch a price that will cover the feed and vet bills that it cost to get them on the ground? Do you believe your animals are going to make a real contribution to the breed, or are you breeding them just because they happen to come equipped with reproductive organs?

If you have spent much time on this forum, you have surely seen a number of threads about foals that didn't make it, or mares that were lost due to complications. Things are slowing down there now, but I'd suggest spending a couple of foaling seasons hanging out on the Marestare website before committing yourself to the headaches and heartaches of breeding. Just watching and reading can be painful enough, without having to bury the bodies and pay the bills. Even if nothing goes wrong, it doesn't mean that everything will go right, either. I breed rabbits; I regularly get "awesome" and "ho-hum" in the same litter. Bloodlines alone don't impress me much, because I know even show-stoppers can produce only so-so, at least some of the time. Foals with poor conformation can still live 30 years or more, what happens to them?

When I first "discovered" minis, I wanted to breed, too. How can anyone resist the appeal of a fuzzy little foal the size of a Cocker Spaniel? But cruise a few salesboards, and reality begins to rear its ugly head. There are hundreds of minis for sale within an hour or two's drive of me, most in the pastures of "me too" breeders that wouldn't recognise a National Champion if it stepped on their toe. (Of course, it probably wouldn't be in their pasture in the first place, because their breeding animals aren't in that league!) In a world already flooded with mediocre quality minis, where animals with national championships are selling for rock bottom prices, the last thing the mini world needs is for me to jump into the already full breeder pool. You don't have to justify your decision to me, but have you really thought about this? I'm not saying absolutely don't ever get into breeding, more like not now, not yet. Put your passion into training and showing for now, and save breeding for a time when the market can better bear it. You may say "oh, that's alright. The foal will have a forever home with me," but that would mean you may be saddled with that horse until you are my age (yeah, I'm an old hag, too. You realize you may never live that down!

)

Even if minis aren't very big, breeding them involves adult sized decisions, and potential adult sized consequences (not just for you, for the animals, too.) I'm not questioning whether you are capable of handling them, just asking, are you sure you want to? I decided that for me to add more animals to an already burgeoning population would be irresponsible, given the current state of things. You, of course, will make your own decisions; that is part of growing up. I wish you joy in them, whatever they are.

 

[JaiteraMiniatures]

When I was young (many, many years ago) I was taught a poem. I have tried to apply it to my life. Asking questions is good, but worthless unless you listen. Sometimes a person can't hear an answer because they are too busy asking the next question.

A wise old owl sat in an oak.

The more he heard, the less he spoke.

The less he spoke, the more he heard.

Wasn't that owl a wise old bird?

I'm one of the "juniors" on the forum, and I have to say I absolutely LOVE that poem

I know their are some things in both the "mini world" and just life in general that you just have to learn on your own, but sometimes if you sit back and learn from others' mistakes and questions you'll learn a lot more with only a fraction of the frustration.

Even though some feelings may have gotten hurt a little throughout this post I must say I think I've learned a lot, and I think others have too...if not, it was a great refresher that not everyone is perfect, and we all have to learn one way or another...whether it be through your own mistakes or watching others'

Hopefully I'm not sounding like a know it all by saying all that, because that's not how it was meant to sound...I'm just saying I've learned far more by listening, but there is NOTHING wrong with learning things your own way. If no one asked questions what would anyone learn?

To Molly, I'll be praying for you and your horses. I hope some wonderful person comes a long and takes you under their wing and teaches you everything you need to know.

Good Luck

 

[Molly's Run Minis]

Alex brings up a valid point here. From reading the earlier posts, I understand that you (MRM) feel that your parents don't take your minis seriously. I can understand your irritation and frustration when you feel that we don't take you seriously, either. I can also understand that you want your animals to be more than just some backyard pets. But if your parents aren't "into" minis, I have to think that you haven't been "into" them terribly long, either. Are you sure you have already developed the eye for a really good mini? You want to be a breeder (who doesn't?) but can you spot the animal with "take it to Nationals" potential? Does this little stallion that you are about to acquire have what it takes to possibly be the next Buckaroo? Are your fillies likely to produce babies that could be that good, or would you be risking their lives to produce middle of the road babies that (on a good day) might barely fetch a price that will cover the feed and vet bills that it cost to get them on the ground? Do you believe your animals are going to make a real contribution to the breed, or are you breeding them just because they happen to come equipped with reproductive organs?

If you have spent much time on this forum, you have surely seen a number of threads about foals that didn't make it, or mares that were lost due to complications. Things are slowing down there now, but I'd suggest spending a couple of foaling seasons hanging out on the Marestare website before committing yourself to the headaches and heartaches of breeding. Just watching and reading can be painful enough, without having to bury the bodies and pay the bills. Even if nothing goes wrong, it doesn't mean that everything will go right, either. I breed rabbits; I regularly get "awesome" and "ho-hum" in the same litter. Bloodlines alone don't impress me much, because I know even show-stoppers can produce only so-so, at least some of the time. Foals with poor conformation can still live 30 years or more, what happens to them?

When I first "discovered" minis, I wanted to breed, too. How can anyone resist the appeal of a fuzzy little foal the size of a Cocker Spaniel? But cruise a few salesboards, and reality begins to rear its ugly head. There are hundreds of minis for sale within an hour or two's drive of me, most in the pastures of "me too" breeders that wouldn't recognise a National Champion if it stepped on their toe. (Of course, it probably wouldn't be in their pasture in the first place, because their breeding animals aren't in that league!) In a world already flooded with mediocre quality minis, where animals with national championships are selling for rock bottom prices, the last thing the mini world needs is for me to jump into the already full breeder pool. You don't have to justify your decision to me, but have you really thought about this? I'm not saying absolutely don't ever get into breeding, more like not now, not yet. Put your passion into training and showing for now, and save breeding for a time when the market can better bear it. You may say "oh, that's alright. The foal will have a forever home with me," but that would mean you may be saddled with that horse until you are my age (yeah, I'm an old hag, too. You realize you may never live that down!

)

Even if minis aren't very big, breeding them involves adult sized decisions, and potential adult sized consequences (not just for you, for the animals, too.) I'm not questioning whether you are capable of handling them, just asking, are you sure you want to? I decided that for me to add more animals to an already burgeoning population would be irresponsible, given the current state of things. You, of course, will make your own decisions; that is part of growing up. I wish you joy in them, whatever they are.

i got my first mini at 5, so i've been "in" minis for ten years. i can tell the difference between a good and not-so-good horse

during my search for a stallion a few people emailed me pics of their weanling/yearling colts and i said no way because i could tell they wouldnt add up to what i wanted in the end. i even suggested gelding to a lady who wanted me to buy her yearling leopard appy colt. she said she wouldnt geld him because of his color

that, to me, is just stupid and isnt a good reason for him to be a stud. i cant say my stud will be the next Buckeroo, but i do think, in our area, he will do quite well in the show ring in halter and liberty. as for my mares, my grulla as a yearling took home 5th in mares of all ages. she went up against fully matured, well muscled mares in her aukward(sp?) yearling stage and took home 5th in her first show. i was quite proud

my buckskin yearling will be in her first show june 26th and i think she'll do pretty well.

i believe my minis are of decent quality compared to the horses in my area, i cant say much for anyplace else. i had to go out of state to find show quality for sale, if that helps you understand my area. alot, not all! but alot of people in my area are like the lady with the appy colt, if it has color and a good temperament that's all that matters

i wont be breeding until my mare and stallion both mature and fill out so i can see if they meet what i want to produce and show. i already have what i like in my head and in my backyard(lol!) i do plan on keeping the first foal of both my mares when the time comes, no matter what they are or what they look like. if i dont like how they look i'll keep them but refrian from breeding until i can find/afford better stock.